This ski season is more laid back, as MauiSkiBus is not really going for any big ski resort goals. Having a more relaxed schedule allows MauiSkiBus to spend more time in each destination, so multiple days are being spent at each ski area.

Below is a You-Tube link to an interview that was done for Outside TV Park City in Feb. 2017

Success in a goal, is always the focus. To elevate that success to a level not ever thought of, is a fantastic life treat. MauiSkiBus, alias MauiMt.BikeBus, alias MauiYogaBus, has attained numerous achievements, never originally thought of. The main goal was to visit and ski 100 different western USA/Canada ski resorts during the 2011/12 ski season. 104 were visited and nearly all resorts supported MauiSkiBus with comp tickets, VIP parking, breakfasts/lunches, and swag.

Over 7,000 stickers and other swag has been given out by MauiSkiBus, some just for falling on the slopes, some for spelling your name backwards, some as gifts for special events, and some for no reason at all. Children have been taken to school in MauiSkiBus{17 in Avon, Colorado}, and yoga flash mobs have been held on MauiSkiBus’s dance floor{Sundance Film Festival, Durango/Avon, Colorado, more}.

MauiSkiBus was able to pass out for free, 2,016 fresh flower Hawaiian leis at the 50th Super Bowl in San Francisco, Feb. 2016. The honor to be the first to lei the Super Bowl is bestowed upon MauiSkiBus. Mountain bike adventures to Jackson Hole, Park City, Durango, CO., Downieville, CA. and Lake Tahoe, where MauiMt.BikeBus, was able to show one of it’s alias’.

The 2016/17 MauiSkiBus ski adventure #3 has no special goals, other than no injuries or accidents. This winter journey will have a very flexible itinerary, allowing MauiSkiBus to experience a winter with out a serious schedule. Park City will see MauiSkiBus for the Sundance Film Festival and a visit to Aspen for the FIS World Cup Finals, will also happen.

MauiSkiBus#3 will end in April 2017. What will be written then. Time, turns, and telling snowflakes to be.

In 1997, before there even was any idea to do MauiSkiBus, a frustrated ski bum windsurfed from LA to Maui. This route took Da Slippa II through the edge of what is called the “Pacific Garbage Patch”, an area in the middle of the Pacific where floating garbage swirls around with the ocean currents.

During the 2012 MauiSkiBus adventure to ski 104 different western USA/Canada resorts, litter along side of the highways was noticed everywhere. When it rains, this litter makes its way into streams, then rivers, then the ocean, and then to the Pacific Garbage Patch.

This is how the idea for TOPLitter came about and it is easy to do. Whenever, wherever ones walks, whether to their car, to work, a hike, Take One Piece of litter and dispose of properly. One person doing this daily will remove 365 pieces in one year. Ten people will total 3,650 pieces, one thousand will equal 36,500 and so on.

So a simple movement is being started by Da Slippa II and MauiSkiBus. There is virtually no reason that everyone does not embrace this, as it is easy to do.

This is the end, beautiful friend, this is the end, my only friend, the end. {J.Morrison} Does this seem a bit depressing? Might feel that way, however, all goals must come to an end. The 2015 goal to ski 50 different western USA/Canada ski resorts fell short at 38. Mother Nature and the lack of snow had her hand in this. The 2015 goal to visit 50 different western USA/Canada yoga studio ended at 52. This 2015 door is to be closed, allowing another door to open.

South Shore Lake Tahoe, the busy shore of this Sierra lake nicknamed “Big Blue” beholds a bit of a feeling from a distant cousin nicknamed “Sin City”. Tucked away from this busier side of Lake Tahoe, is a delightful yoga studio, with an inviting open door created by Jenay, a poetress of yoga form. MauiSkiBus2 was delighted to finish the 2015 yoga season here, with the door to close and the return door to Maui soon to open.

Whether a door is weathered, wooden, steel, with or without windows, squeaky when opened, or slamming when shut, any door to a yoga studio will add delight into your life. Many multiple emotions of gratitude are sent to all studios that were part of MauiSkiBus/MauiYogaBus 2015. Stretched it, breathed it, sweated it, loved it

This is the end, beautiful friends, this is the end, my many friends.(Tropical Ski Bum Steve}

Clarity of sight, a strong visual focus, defined vision of direction, seeing a projected outcome, all contribute to being deviated as not an option. Life’s distractions are so apparent, a moment for a time out will create moments to be focused. MauiSkiBus2, winter 2015, a very light snow year, was saved by MauiYogaBus, being able to attain the goal to visit 50 different western USA/Canada yoga studios, and number 51, was a bit of dessert added with some Hollywood flair.

A chalet brings to mind a rustic mountain cabin, set in the winter woods, surrounded by towering snow draped pine trees, smoke billowing out of the stone fireplace chimney, an invitation to come in out of the cold. A Shaelah shall do the same along a truck roaring freeway, in Truckee, California, high in the Sierra Mountains, often know for its deep winter snowfall storms. Shaelah’s Yoga Studio Tahoe, is worthy of a Hollywood dance studio, a shala that will surely elevate your soul.

Awaken your heart, whether a class is taken during the spring snow melt, the short summer warmth of the High Sierras, or taking in the visuals of fall colors, the goal of better clarity will be attained. Pioneer’s of the distant past once traveled by here, only wishing to be able to stop, enter, and partake in what Shaelah has manifested in Truckee. Your time spent here, just a quick detour from the truck roaring 80 doing 80, will gift you a transformation in your life.

Man’s and most woman’s best friend? Dogs. Cats are cool, but never could live up to this previous question. More goes on through a dogs eyes than most humans realize. Picture this. A pack of wolves is out hunting in the northern reaches of the Artic. The alpha wolf leads, focusing eyes on the herd of caribou, looking for the slightest irregular body movement, a limp, a stutter of a step, an aged prey, anything out of a healthy balance. A graceful gait is not in the target, neither are hoofs that step properly unto the frozen tundra, similar to the elegant motion of hands and feet found by MauiSkiBus, while out hunting to the goal of 50.

On a raining evening, the alpha wolf did not see any weakness of motion, nor was aware of any stutter of posture, as MauiSkiBus attained the 2015 goal to visit 50 different western USA/Canada yoga studios. Classic energy of the bygone years, still lurk in this northern sanctuary of Lake Tahoe, where one side reads Cal to Nev and the other Nev to Cal. If the singing voices of this past era were to see the yellow vibrations of MauiSkiBus, what lyrics would they sing and dance to?

Graceful hand gestures, pointing in different directions during poses, very fluid in nature, were what was observed. Instructor Jen, lacking any weakness of body movement, emitting an energetic personality, one surely to be cloned, entertains at The Sanctuary, across from the historic casinos, of North Lake Tahoe. At times, her graceful motions of flow, were more than a visual that an alpha wolf could absorb, were the entertainer energies of the past assisting?

The three main mountain ranges in the western USA are Rockies, Sierras, and the lesser known, Cascades. All have lakes of various sizes, none compare in popularity to one lake in the Sierras. Never freezing, known for water clarity, sitting at an elevation over 6,000 feet high, and nicknamed, “Big Blue”. Usually also known for a deep winter snowfall, in the recent years past, the winter snowstorms have decided to avoid this Sierra lake, receding the lake level lower than the only outlet that starts west, then U turns, to go east. This east direction is what is viewed from at a yoga studio, high in the Sierras.

San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area residents have a three hour drive to the north shore side of Lake Tahoe, gaining more than 6,000 vertical feet from sea level. This elevation change can be a challenge for most, however the real challenge is about to begin. Mountain Lotus Yoga, in Tahoe City, with a location right on the shores of beautiful “Big Blue”, Lake Tahoe, will captivate you with visual delights. Time will tick by, as this view will hypnotize you, as that ticking clock will perhaps make you late for class. Be early, as a delightful Ms. Jamie will make sure that you have a spot to turn your focus on the main reason that you are here.

A newly revived sport from Hawaii is now an avid sport by many, stand up paddle boarding, or SUP for short, and Mountain Lotus offers classes on Lake Tahoe, for a new twist to traditional yoga. Even the high mountain air temperatures may be a comfortable on dry skin, a lost balance on an SUP will awaken all body senses. Balance focus will take on a new meaning on an SUP instead of a yoga mat, so enjoy a stretching downward dog, however an unstable full tree pose may get you watered!

The five main senses of humans, sight, taste, touch, smell, and hearing can all be naturally altered by us all, minus one. Do not want to see? Close your eyes. Taste is only there with an open mouth. Keep your hands to yourself, and touch is not there. Nasty smells? Breathe through your mouth. Then there is hearing. There is no way to naturally turn off hearing anything, whether a annoying noise or a soothing captivating sound. All yoga studios that MauiSkiBus has visited this 2015 season somewhat start the same, South Lake Tahoe has a studio that starts off with a musical.

Yoga classes usually begin with the instructor setting the class atmosphere or a soft “OM”. Near the shores of South Lake Tahoe, Mountain Yoga invited all to partake in a soft toned Sanskrit chant led by a “cute as a button on a Raggedy Ann doll” Laura, complete with portable harmonium. This was not an expectation for MauiSkiBus, more of a surprise of delight, as this was a first during the 2015 quest to visit 50 different yoga studios.

Yoga studios all have one core thing in common and that is the human art form of different yoga poses. More and more studios are adding a creative mix to this core, sharing the evolution of the practice of yoga. This creative mix is adding to the popularity of yoga, and MountainYoga has added space and time to their schedule. An hour class is the norm, an hour plus half is becoming more common, but a full hour plus hour is a first seen by MauiSkiBus. Seeing the changes in yoga, feeling the benefits of a flexible body, a studio that emits the aroma of precious oils, and hearing sounds of harmonious voices, are all here at Mountain Yoga. Now how to add a delicious taste to fulfill all five senses?

As the human body ages, sports and athlectic activities will and do change. Football players end up barely walking. Golfers are chastised with knee and back injuries, due to the constant a-symmetrical swing. Tennis elbow anyone? Marathon runners end up with stress factors. Cycling mainly uses the lower body, leaving an unbalanced physique. Like swimming? Better on the joints, however all that chlorine is toxic. OK, Crossfit? Doctors love the added injuries to their business. Surfers do great, when there is surf. Watch out for skin cancer. Excessive couch surfing is a sin to a human torso. A love penance for your body, soul, mind and anti-aging can be found in your garage.

Move out the cars, paint and decorate the walls, add in a bamboo wood floor, and your studio for life is made. MauiSkiBus can now add yoga not for sinners, in a converted garage to the list of 50 yoga studios attempted to visit in the 2015 adventure. Sin City Yoga, Las Vegas, proud to be nicknamed, “Sin City”, offers a yoga destination that MauiSkiBus really enjoyed, as budokanette Crystal, taught out back, in the wonderfully renovated former garage.

All humans, large and small, tall and short, skinny and the obese, can benefit for life with a more flexible fit body. From simple chair yoga to the masterful intense hot yoga, MauiSkiBus has so far visited and done them all. All sports and athletics have a great following, and all that follow and partake in any sport of their choice, can and will benefit from the many different forms of yoga. Sin City Yoga is just off the Downtown Strip of Vegas, offering an array of classes for all to join. Now there needs to be an addition to the garage studio to park MauiSkiBus inside.

Sounds of chirping birds, mixed in with barking dogs, adding in over 7,000,000,000(billion} souls of different languages and voice tones, maybe toss in a bit of the humming of Mother Earth, spinning on a tilted axis, all combining to sound like? Quatum mechanics and astro-physics delve into the science of all that exist from the Big Bang until this moment, with a soft prediction of things to come. Stepping into this world of science and adding in the present day combined sounds of the Earth, what in the far reaches of the Universe does Earth sound like? A sanctuary will share this, as a sound here replicates the voice of the Earth.

The scientific community has huge radio telescopes listening to the farthest reaches of outer space for sounds that come from the distant past. If those same radio telescopes were located in the far reaches of outer space, directed at Earth, what sound would be heard? OM, the primordial sound vibration emitted from yoga studios worldwide, even in a city more know for slotting ching ching. Four directions of Earth and four levels of consciousness all contribute to OM, and a yoga sanctuary located in the city of neon lights offers two directions to chant OM, east for the rising sun, and west for the sun to set.

Yoga Sanctuary of Las Vegas, carefully overseen by a yogi goddess to the stars, Sherry Goldstein, welcomed MauiSkiBus. West towards the setting sun, was the location for this cosmic visit, as a high vibrating “Can you feel it”, Celine was the yoga class opera maestroess. At times, she was overseeing her universe of yogis from her perch and at other times, she would silently prance around, finely adjusting postures and forms. Preciseness was apparent here, seemingly with grace, putting human atoms into perfect form. Post class, a happy group posed closer to the heavens, sharing many higher vibrations of sound, on top of MauiSkiBus. Can you hear their pleasure and excitement?